answer to the plaintive question asked over a century ago: `Ar'n't I a woman?'" (167).
It is a relatively short (167 pages) book but it is powerful nevertheless, because it deals less with social data and theory than with the heartbreaking and enraging stories of specific female slaves in specific circumstances. White takes full advantage of the available sources in trying to awaken the reader to the reality of female slaves, but she first notes the difficulties facing any researcher seeking the complete story of these women: " . . . the dearth of source material makes documenting their real role difficult" (22). In addition, the material which is available is contradictory:
In short, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to be precise about the effect of any single variable on female slaves. . . .
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